Brassiere



` E. cADous o ct. 3, 195o BRASSIERE Filed Deo. l5, 1948 Bnventor WWE/Q A0006 (Ittorneg Patented Oct. 3, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 'p c 2,524,621 Y BRASSIRE l Esther Cadous, New York, N. Y. v` pplication December 15, 1948,v Serial No. 65,339

s claims. (o1. 2-42) This invention relates to brassires and has for an object to provide a garment of the above type which does not require shoulder straps for support. v

Another object is to provide a strapless brassire having novel and improved characteristics.

Another object is to provide a brassire having novel and improved means to grip the body for holding the brassire in place.` 1

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

In accordance with the present invention, frontA breast pockets are provided with stays for shaping and supporting the breast and the breast pockets are attached to back panels of stretchable sheet material such as natural or artificial rubber which are provided with fastening means such as hooks and eyes for joining the same at the back under tension. The back panels are providedwith holes so disposed thereover that, when the panelsare stretched and then relaxed as in the normal operation of fastening the brassire, the panels grip the skin to prevent slippage of the garment. covered with a suitable fabric covering which may be either loose or may comprise a stretchable material. such as a knitted fabric, which is firmly secured thereto and prevents the rubber from coming in contact with the skin.

In one embodiment a soft cushioning material, such as sponge rubber, extends across the front of the garment between the two .back panels and inside of the lower ends of the stays to form a gripping portion for the front portion of the garment and also to cushion lower ends of the stays and prevent the same from injuring the skin of the wearer.

The invention will be better understood by referring to the following description taken in oonnection with the accompanying drawing in which certain specific embodiments are set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the brassire;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig, 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing more in detail, the brassire is shown as comprising a pair of breast pockets Il] which areformed of any suitable lightweight fabric and are provided with vertical stays H which extend from the upper point I2 ofthe breast pocket in the form of an inverted V and The .rubber back panels are` terminate at a front strip I3 which may comprise a heavy cushioning material such as sponge rub ber. The stays l l are suitably shaped to form the breast pockets. A center vertical stay i5 is disposed between the breast pockets and side vertical stays It are disposed at the sides of the breast pockets. The stays are provided with the usual fabric covering.

'Back panels 25 are attached to the side stays I6 and are provided with vertical stays 2t at their free ends and withintermediate vertical stays 2l. 28 and eyes 29 may be secured to the freeends of theback panels25 for securing them at the center of the'back in the usual manner.

Each back panel 25 comprises a sheet of exible stretchable sheet material, such as rubber, either natural or synthetic, which is provided along its bottom edge with a row of holes 30 and along its top edge with another row of holes 3|, and with other holes 32 variously disposed over the remainder of its area. The holes 30, 3| and 32 may be of any desired size and shape, being shown as round, square, diamond-shaped and oblong merely for illustration. They should be of a size large enough to permit the skin to enter the hole slightly so as to provide a grip to secure the garment against slippage.

Each panel 25 is provided with an inner covering 35 and with an outer covering 36 of suitable fabric and the stays 26 and 21 may be provided with a covering 3l secured by rows of stitches 38. The coverings 35 and 35 may be of thin stretchable material such as knitted fabric and may be secured only at their edges to lie loosely over the rubber panels 25 or they may be firmly secured to the rubber panel as by suitable adhesive. The inner covering 35 prevents the rubber of the back panels 25 from contacting the skin, but is suiciently porous and iiexible to prevent interference with the action of the holes 30, 3| and 32. The sponge ,rubber front panel I3 is preferably secured at its ends to the inner ends of the back panels 25 and is also covered by suitable fabric.

The stays may be formed of suitable material, such as rubber, plastic or steel, and are of a type suited to be shaped and to retain their shape.

The garment is made of a size such that the back panels are stretched somewhat when applied to the wearer. This stretching of the back panels causes the edges around the holes to be drawn against the skin of the wearer and when the tension is released somewhat, after the back panels have been hooked together, causes the Fastening means indicated as hooksk edges to rmly grip the skin and to prevent slippage of the garment.

It has been found that such garments remain in place even after the wearer has gone through the body movements incident to strenuous exercise. It is evident therefore that the brassire may be made as a separate unit or may be made as a part of a garment, such as bathing suit, slip, sports dress, evening dress, or other strapless garments.' f

What is claimed is:

l. A strapless garment comprising a pair of breast pockets of thin fabric, a front strip eX- tending across the front of the garment beneath the breast pockets, back panels of flat rubber-like material attached to said first strip Vand'haiving holes therein for gripping the skin of the-wearer, and vertical stays supporting the fabric of said breast pockets and having their lower 'ends secured to said front strip and supported thereby whereby the entire support for said breast-pockets is derived from said front strip, said front strip including soft cushioning material over the ends of said stays to prevent the same from injuring the wearer.

2. A strapless garmentrcomprising a pair of breast pockets of thin fabric, a front strip extending across the front of vthe garment beneath the breast pockets, back panels of flat rubber-like material attached to said first strip, and vertical stays extending upwardly from said front strip to the top of said breast pockets at about the center line thereof to support the fabricV of said breast pockets and having their lower ends i 4 secured to said front strip and supported thereby whereby the entire support for said breast pockets is derived from said front strip, said front strip including soft cushioning material over the ends of said stays to prevent the same from injuring the wearer.

3. A strapless garment comprising a pair of breast pockets of thin fabric, a front strip extending beneath said breast pockets, vertical stays securedto said fabric to support said pockets and having their lower ends supported by said front strip, sponge rubber cushioning material disposed on said front strip over the ends of said stays on the inside of said garment to contact and firmly grip the skin of the wearer so as to prevent slippage ofvthegarment and to prevent the ends of the stays from contacting the body, and back panels of flexible material secured to the ends of saidfront strip.

ESTHER CADOUS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent: f

UNrTED STATES PATENTS ACummings l Jan. 14, 1949 

